Evergreen Style: Timothy Parent

Spring is well underway, which means many people are cleaning out their closets. This process often sends unwanted items off to one of two places: thrift stores or trash cans.

While donating might sound like a good idea, it is helpful as long as the items are clean and made from materials that can be recycled.

Another helpful consideration for this process is a style evaluation. People barely wear 50% of their wardrobe in one year. If any items have been tucked away collecting dust, then there may be a problem worth solving. Is it time to elicit help?

• Trashed Clothing

  According to a 2022 report published by the National Institute for Science and Technology, “only about 15% of used clothes and textiles in the United States get reused or recycled.” The rest ends up in incinerators or landfills.

Fashion thrives on overconsumption, persuading people to constantly buy without thinking through the true purpose the item(s) serves. Choosing to engage in a more meaningful way can lessen some of the harms from the making and selling of fashion that are passed on to shoppers.

Being intentional is something that Timothy Parent—also known as T—promotes through the educational platform, Reforme U. His emphasis on dressing with authenticity helps people transform their relationship with fashion from mindless to mindful. Our conversation explores his perspective on sustainable fashion and highlights his upcoming projects in the community, which—full disclosure—includes a collaboration with me.

T with participants and clothes at a Sustainable Style Seattle event.

The Evergreen Echo

JeLisa: What currently excites you about sustainable fashion?

T: The conversations and solutions that go beyond capitalism. Sustainable fashion has long been positioned as something that you buy, not something that you have, but people are beginning to realize that “sustainability” is just being used to sell more stuff, and that's really important because everyday people are a part of the solution. I love that sustainable fashion is becoming more accessible to people, not just something that the industry talks about...

JeLisa: How is this reflected in your work at Reforme U?

T: This is the core mission of Reforme U: To empower the demand side of the equation. We have to reduce consumption because this is a poly-crisis wrought by overconsumption, and if we can solve for overconsumption, then we can also properly affect overproduction. The only real incentive the industry or supply side of the equation is going to respond to is their bottom line. I’m excited to help people figure out a method of creating their dream wardrobe that doesn’t require endless cycles of consumption. 

JeLisa: With all this in mind, what is the connection between style and sustainability that you want people who engage with fashion to understand?

T: Style is the most sustainable form of fashion. Fashion is inherently unsustainable, as it’s extractive. I define style as fashion + the self, so we really have to center individuals in this transition to a truly sustainable system (which I define as “able to be sustained without environmental or human harm”). Currently, we are so focused on trends and what other people are wearing, but if we center our own identities, culture, aesthetic sense, and other aspects of self that make us unique we can diversify both the supply and demand side of the equation, which will have many positive effects on the system as a whole. 

JeLisa: How have your insights led to your latest projects?

T: I’m really focused on providing the general public with knowledge and skills, so currently I’m working on a series of events with a collective of practitioners in Seattle to help upskill and empower our local community here. Some real solutions include swapping clothes, mending clothes, and upcycling clothes. So, we will be hosting weekends where people can come and participate in such solutions for free. 

JeLisa: Based on your experiences, what is the biggest challenge that people in Seattle face with style and sustainability?

T: It's just a misunderstanding of what sustainability in fashion means. It doesn't mean incrementally better materials or production methods, it means loving your clothes. Deeply. So much so that you will keep them for life. So, we have to start with understanding both ourselves and a bit about how the system functions and tries to trap us in cycles of overconsumption. To understand how the fashion system works, I’d recommend looking into the Four I’s of Oppression (ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized). We are working against interpersonal and internalized oppression, but I think education is a key component in helping people understand the coming paradigm shift. 

JeLisa: This stated, how do you envision people in Seattle engaging with your upcoming projects?

T: I just want people to find joy in understanding their personal style, and engaging more purposefully with our clothes is a great first step. I think people are afraid of fashion, and in Seattle in particular people are very anti-fashion. So, these events are designed to be fun and free. I hope it helps people understand that fashion, through the lens of personal style, can be both fun and meaningful. I hope that the events we are hosting activate people on a lifelong journey to understand themselves and their role in creating a more sustainable world. 

JeLisa: If you could ask the community to make one lasting change in their style to become more sustainable, what would it be and why?

T: Buy for life, or even buy for [multiple] lives. Timelessness is not just an aesthetic, it's a personal aesthetic…by thinking of this not only in aesthetic terms, but also in terms of quality can really help us force the industry to create higher-quality products, as the industry right now is racing to the bottom in terms of both price and quality. But, we are the real force for change because they are just chasing our dollars. 

Sustainable Style Seattle event participants

The Evergreen Echo

JeLisa: Are there any sustainable fashion trends emerging in Seattle that you find interesting?

T: There are a lot of conversations around circularity, but also emerging conversations around regenerative fashion, which borrows ideas and practices from the food industry. I think the idea that we can use fashion not only as a way to sustain but to also regenerate our planet is so beautiful and inspiring. 

JeLisa: Where else do you find style inspiration?

T: I was “othered” throughout my life, so I always find inspiration at the margins of society. But, ultimately, I just try to look inward. I’m trying to understand myself and validate my own aesthetic sense. I don’t look outward for validation, and I try to not look outward for too much inspiration. Of course we need to be receptive in order to be creative, but our inner worlds are beautifully complex and unique, and I hope to understand myself even more and materialize that through what I already own. I think inspiration can come from play, and I highly encourage people to play with their clothes. 

JeLisa: Is there anything else you want readers to know about you and your work?

T: I’m currently working on custom GPTs (i.e. generative pre-trained transformers) to help reduce consumption. I really hope we don't use AI to just sell more stuff. 

In other words, T is a great resource for developing a sense of style that is truly sustainable. Spring can take on a whole new meaning when your closet is filled with well-loved, well-worn items. If extending the use of clothes or styling is an ongoing struggle, check out the Sustainable Style Seattle calendar to attend a free experiential fashion event. Or, if you’d rather join a virtual style masterclass, get started at Reforme U.